Robust Generation of Dynamic Data Structure Visualizations with Multiple Interaction Approaches

Cross, James H.; Hendrix, T. Dean; Umphress, David; Barowski, Larry A.; Jain, Jhilmil; Montgomery, Lacey S.

doi:10.1145/1538234.1538240

Cited by 18 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…The Data Display Debugger (DDD) [76] is a graphical user interface for GDB providing a graphical display 860 for representing complex data structures as graphs that can be explored incrementally and interactively. jGRASP supports the visualization of various data structure by means of dynamic viewers and a structure identifier that automatically select suitable views for data structures [77]. x DIVA is a 3-D debugging visualization system where complex visualization metaphors are assembled from individual ones, each of which is independently replaceable [78].…”

Section: User Interfaces For Debuggingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Practical domain-specific debuggers using the Moldable Debugger framework

Chiș

Denker

Nierstrasz

2015

Computer Languages, Systems & Structures

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Understanding the run-time behaviour of software systems can be a challenging activity. Debuggers are an essential category of tools used for this purpose as they give developers direct access to the running systems. Nevertheless, traditional debuggers rely on generic mechanisms to introspect and interact with the running systems, while developers reason about and formulate domain-specific questions using concepts and abstractions from their application domains. This mismatch creates an abstraction gap between the debugging needs and the debugging support leading to an inefficient and error-prone debugging effort, as developers need to recover concrete domain concepts using generic mechanisms. To reduce this gap, and increase the efficiency of the debugging process, we propose a framework for developing domain-specific debuggers, called the Moldable Debugger, that enables debugging at the level of the application domain. The Moldable Debugger is adapted to a domain by creating and combining domain-specific debugging operations with domain-specific debugging views, and adapts itself to a domain by selecting, at run time, appropriate debugging operations and views. To ensure the proposed model has practical applicability (i.e., can be used in practice to build real debuggers), we discuss, from both a performance and usability point of view, three implementation strategies. We further motivate the need for domain-specific debugging, identify a set of key requirements and show how our approach improves debugging by adapting the debugger to several domains.

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Section: User Interfaces For Debuggingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Practical domain-specific debuggers using the Moldable Debugger framework

Chiș

Denker

Nierstrasz

2015

Computer Languages, Systems & Structures

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“…jGRASP supports the visualization of various data structure by means of dynamic viewers and a structure identifier that automatically select suitable views for data structures [46]. x DIVA is a 3-D debugging visualization system where complex visualization metaphors are assembled from individual ones, each of which is independently replaceable [47].…”

Section: User Interfaces For Debuggingmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Moldable Debugger: A Framework for Developing Domain-Specific Debuggers

Chiș

Gîrba²,

Nierstrasz

2014

Software Language Engineering

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Abstract. Debuggers are crucial tools for developing object-oriented software systems as they give developers direct access to the running systems. Nevertheless, traditional debuggers rely on generic mechanisms to explore and exhibit the execution stack and system state, while developers reason about and formulate domain-specific questions using concepts and abstractions from their application domains. This creates an abstraction gap between the debugging needs and the debugging support leading to an inefficient and error-prone debugging effort. To reduce this gap, we propose a framework for developing domain-specific debuggers called the Moldable Debugger. The Moldable Debugger is adapted to a domain by creating and combining domain-specific debugging operations with domain-specific debugging views, and adapts itself to a domain by selecting, at run time, appropriate debugging operations and views. We motivate the need for domain-specific debugging, identify a set of key requirements and show how our approach improves debugging by adapting the debugger to several domains.

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“…Four experiments were conducted to investigate the effect, if any, that the viewers had on student performance on common programming tasks, including both development and debugging [2]. Two experiments were based on singly linked lists, and were performed near the beginning of a CS2 course just after linked structures had been introduced.…”

Section: Supporting Evaluationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dynamic program visualizations

Cross

Hendrix

Barowski

et al. 2014

Proceedings of the 45th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education

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In this paper, we describe our experiences using dynamic program visualizations in our Java-based CS1 and CS2 courses during the spring semester 2013. The visualizations were constructed by both faculty and students using the new viewer canvas in jGRASP. A public beta version was downloaded and installed in our computer labs and on student and faculty machines. Program visualizations were used in the classroom as well as in lab activities and programming projects. Since the viewers had already been evaluated in controlled experiments, our focus was on ease of use of the viewer canvas by the students and the utility of the program visualizations in helping students understand their programs. Direct observations in the lab and individual meetings with students to discuss their work indicated that students could indeed build dynamic visualizations that, in conjunction with the debugger, helped them understand and correct bugs in their programs much more effectively than using the debugger alone.

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Robust Generation of Dynamic Data Structure Visualizations with Multiple Interaction Approaches

Cited by 18 publications

References 48 publications

Practical domain-specific debuggers using the Moldable Debugger framework

Practical domain-specific debuggers using the Moldable Debugger framework

The Moldable Debugger: A Framework for Developing Domain-Specific Debuggers

Dynamic program visualizations

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